Sustainability Outlook Headlines

Clean-tech startup Thinkphi gets angel funding

Mumbai-based Think Sustainable Lab Pvt Ltd, which runs clean-tech company Thinkphi, has raised an undisclosed amount in angel funding from serial entrepreneur Nimmagadda Prasad.

The company will use the funds to expand operations and its R&D team and to start sales and distribution activities, it said in a statement.

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Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra, Ford India, Mahindra Reva and Tata Motors collaborate for electric vehicles cause

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, Ford India Pvt. Ltd, Mahindra Reva Electric Vehicles Pvt. Ltd and Tata Motors Ltd have created a consortium that will help develop a supplier base for critical hybrid and electric vehicle components.

The components will feed into the efforts of members of the consortium to build six electric and hybrid vehicles, creating a base of suppliers that have the... Read more..

IEA: Global oil market to hit surplus in early 2017

Oil supply and demand will balance after a series of unplanned production outages, but the market is expected to tilt into surplus in the first half of next year, the International Energy Agency said on Tuesday.

The agency said demand growth in 2017 is likely to be flat at around 1.3 million barrels per day (bpd), the same level at which it estimates growth for this year, having revised up its May 2016... Read more..

IIT Delhi students create device that turns waste cooking oil into biodiesel

A team of three IIT Delhi students have come up with a prototype called FAME One. Their innovation can help small-scale hotels, restaurants and households to convert waste cooking oil into biodiesel. Their innovation, which looks like a washing machine, is not only eco-friendly but also affordable. Taking roughly an hour to complete the process, it can be used in rural setups to convert oil seeds into diesel.

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India looks to tap multi-billion dollar climate fund to back renewable projects

The Indian government has launched a request for proposals for renewable energy projects to tap into the multi-billion dollar Green Climate Fund (GCF).

The country’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) issued the request for “State governments, industry, developers, electrical utilities, private and public institutions, international agencies and other stakeholders” to present proposals that could be... Read more..

ABB links 648 MW solar project at Kamuthi with national grid

Engineering firm ABB has commissioned five sub-stations to integrate 648 MW solar project at Kamuthi in Tamil Nadu to the national transmission grid.

The project was awarded by independent power producer Adani Group in 2015 and completed on schedule, the company said in a BSE filing today.

According to... Read more..

Amrita students develop ‘Smart Water’ prototype

Engineering students from Amrita University have developed a prototype called “Smart Water”, to monitor the growing exploitation of fresh water in the country.

The technique took the Amrita team to a different level at the first-ever “iDeate – The Great Digital India Challenge” organised by Cisco, with several companies evincing interest in taking the prototype forward towards commercialisation.... Read more..

Govt lays out road map for adoption of fuel cell technology

The central government on Monday released a draft report that lays down a road map for the use of hydrogen energy and fuel cell technology in the transport sector as it tries to broaden the green economy in India.

The draft report Hydrogen energy and Fuel Cells in India—A way forward has been put online by the ministry of new and renewable energy and is open for comments till 20 June.

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Adani group wins bid to set up a 100 MW solar unit in Chhattisgarh

An Adani Group company has won the project to set up a 100 MW solar power unit in Chhattisgarh, in an auction where none of the bidders quoted below the reserve price.

Parampujya Solar Energy, an arm of Adani Green Energy, sought the lowest viability gap funding (VGF) of Rs 59 lakh per MW among three bidders in the latest solar auction conducted by Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI).... Read more..

Govt to spend 73cr for rural electrification in Gautam Budh Nagar district

The Union government has sanctioned Rs 72.71 crore for electrification of all villages in Gautam Budh Nagar district. The work, to be implemented under Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY) and Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS), aims to provide electricity to all villages in the district by mid-2018.

On Saturday, MP Mahesh Sharma held a meeting with district magistrate N P Singh and... Read more..

Panel set up for full municipal waste mgmt in Maharashtra

The state government, following directives from the Central government, has decided to go in for full management of municipal solid waste. It has set up a nine-member steering committee under principal secretary (urban development II) for suggesting ways and means to achieve this objective.

The committee will also recommend ways to make full use of municipal compost generated by urban local bodies. The... Read more..

Power plants of PSUs allowed to swap coal, similar rules for private companies in offing

The power regulator has allowed power plants owned by central and state power utilities to swap coal for its efficient usage and reduction of transportation charges, a move that will lead to lowering of electricity tariffs.

The Central Electricity Authority has finalised the methodology for flexibility in utilisation of domestic coal for reducing cost of power generation.

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